What’s the impact of the pandemic on you, your company, your approach to doing business in the future? What practices emerged that you will continue even as restrictions are loosening?
I don’t think we’ll ever forget the impact of the pandemic. I think despite the incredible stress and fear we all felt, it also forged partnerships and trust between agencies, clients, and production companies that I hope will remain. It was a moment in time where you had to join hands and take a leap together, and even as we start to be able to return very cautiously back to filming more traditionally, there are certain hands I hope to never let go of.
How has the call for equity, racial and social justice affected, honed or influenced your sense of responsibility as a company in terms of the content you create and/or your commitment to opening up opportunities for filmmaking talent from underrepresented backgrounds?
I have learned that calls alone can go unanswered. You can’t just say you are going to do something or sign up for the pledge, you have to put in the work. And if you can’t make the big systemic changes you want, find a way to make a change at any level. Then do that every single day. There aren’t any excuses. Put in the time it takes to create access, mentor, fundraise, give opportunity. Whatever you have to give, give it. And then give more. Every day I tell myself there is more that I can do. That’s the responsibility I feel.
What’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work (please identify the project) you were involved in that was or is in the running for current awards season consideration (i.e., Emmys, Cannes Lions, etc.)?
I don’t know if there was a job that was more difficult than Beats “You Love Me” to bring to life in my career. But I do know that there hasn’t been one that is more rewarding. The bravery of everyone involved – Melina, Lena, the team at Translation and Beats – it was a road of intense conversations, raw emotions, shooting in brutal conditions – but to see the resonance it had in culture, made it a piece I will never forget. I’m very proud to have played a part in that and it was a reminder that what we do is not just sell shit. We also get to the hold the microphone. And the words we speak have power. So we sure as hell better make sure what we are saying is worth listening to…
While gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for the second half of 2021 and beyond.
I wish I knew. I have hopes – I hope companies and countries find ways to recover from the staggering losses professionally and personally this past year. I hope that there is a restoration of optimism and the feeling that we will get through this globally. But at the moment it all feels tenuous. But in the height of the pandemic, we found ways to produce. So I’m confident that whatever is in front of us, as an industry we will keep going.
What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2021 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of the year and beyond?
I think we’re still facing very real situations due to Covid-19. Limitations on travel, safety for filming, how we approach the workplace. We can’t look at ourselves as an industry that’s just within this country – we are inherently a part of a global community and sadly I don’t think we’ll be through this in 2021.
What work (advertising, entertainment)–your own or others–struck a responsive chord with you and/or was the most effective creatively and/or strategically so far this year? Does any work stand out to you in terms of meshing advertising and entertainment?
There was so much work I loved. I think just the fact that there was such an incredible breadth of creative work that came out this past year is a testament to the great minds of our industry. The Change the Ref graduation piece where they tricked the former president of the NRA stopped me in my tracks. And on the other end of the tonal spectrum you have pieces like Alexa’s Body or Burberry that I could have watched on loop for sheer enjoyment. When it comes to the mesh of advertising and entertainment, I think Alex Prager’s piece for Miller Lite was groundbreaking. The fact that it was an actual installation at LACMA and could be enjoyed as much as a work of art as a brand piece, to me was inspirational in terms of meshing worlds.
